Hagi and Oribe

This summer, Joan B Mirviss LTD is excited to present our next exhibition that focuses on a small selection of recent and current masters of Hagi and Oribe wares, traditions that originated during the first golden age of Japanese ceramics, the Momoyama era (1573-1615). Created in a small town on the Japan Sea in western Honshu, the monochromatic aesthetics of Hagi were derived from Korean traditions learned from potters brought to Japan. Oribe, on the other hand, is completely a Japanese invention that favored bright asymmetrical patterning and brilliant green coloring. It was developed in central Japan in the Mino region. The elegant simplicity of form coupled with the unctuous white Hagi glaze or the deep black or green vibrancy of Oribe have made these ceramic wares popular for use in tea ceremony for centuries. But it was not until after the Meiji restoration, in the late nineteenth century, that both Hagi and Oribe-glazed works were produced for and reached a broader audience in Japan and the newly opened international export market.

Kaneta Masanao is an eighth-generation Hagi potter, who creates dramatic sculptural ceramics that evoke the sharp snow-covered peaks and deep gorges of the mountains surrounding Hagi. With his popular, easily recognizable, rugged “scooped-out” technique, his work has entered the collections of many museums in the US. Our final featured artist from Hagi is Shibuya Eiichi whose sweeping, black-and-white forms, inspired by the seashore near his studio, are far removed from the traditional Hagi wares of his forebearers. The white and dark banding of his sensuous modern sculptural vessels is created using sprayed matte glazes to stunning effect.

On view from late June through August, this summer exhibition spotlights both living and past ceramic masters who have striven to expand the boundaries and the aesthetics of these ancient, cherished ceramic traditions. From Hagi, artists KANETA MASANAO (b. 1953), SHIBUYA EIICHI (b. 1979), members of the MIWA Family: KYŪWA (KYŪSETSU X) LNT (1895-1981), KAZUHIKO (KYŪSETSU XIII) (b.1951), and his son TAROH (b. 1984), have each dedicated their practice to expanding the defined techniques and styles for which their community is associated. Miwa has been a prominent family name in ceramics since the Edo period, but it was with Kyūwa, also known as Kyūsetsu X, that a stylistic change emerged. Kyūsetsu X spent time studying and examining the aesthetic past of Japanese ceramics with two other scholar-potters leading to new approaches to the Hagi tradition. Just last month, at his very first and hugely successful solo exhibition in Japan, his great-grandson, Miwa Taroh pushed the Hagi aesthetic still further with his remarkable ash-glazed, powerful large teabowls.

New directions in Oribe are on display with the work of past master KOIE RYŌJI (1938-2020) and recent prize-winner KATŌ RYŌTARŌ (b. 1974). Koie Ryōji has long been considered one of the foremost contemporary Japanese ceramic artists and was especially renowned for his Oribe glazed vessels and sculpture. His extensive travels exposed him to a multitude of different forms, glazes, and ceramic techniques inspiring him to create uniquely shaped vessels and art installations, often graced with Oribe glazing. Our second featured Oribe ceramist is Katō Ryotarō, another eight-generation potter, who was recently awarded the Japan Ceramics Society Prize. Katō explores the depth of possibilities for classically inspired Oribe chanoyu vessels as he continues to experiment with glaze and firing techniques, yielding an incredible array of coloration and textures.

Both Katō Ryotarō and Koie Ryōji have redefined the aesthetic definition of Oribe-glazed vessels just as Kaneta Masanao, the Miwa family, and Shibuya Eiichi have continued to reinvent Hagi glaze.